nettlebed

In (downtown) Redmond I have seen coyote, skunks, beavers, raccoons, possums, and deer. Bigger birds include bald eagles (nesting: four pairs successfully raised young last year), cormorants, osprey and buzzard and gray heron.

In Seattle we have peregrines nesting on some downtown ledges, and I regularly see bald eagles from my office.

The Olympic peninsula and Vancouver island are marvelous nature resources, too.

I *like* the weather here: I like having four seasons, I love rain and fog too. I lived a year in San Diego and the weather was totally boring.

Yay for Western Washington: now if we could get them rednecks east of the cascades to secede and stop taking all our taxes from King and Pierce counties, we'd be pretty much perfect...

exvj

I don't know about black widows - havent googled em - but the lizards are horrible with big broad heads and spikes down their backs and there are lots of rattlesnakes. I like the florida lizards but these are ugly. They are all in the cascade mountains (400 yards away) and don't come into town.

I think it might be the best climate in the US - 4 seasons and it's not humid, not too cold in winter, and the heat is fine and a little bit of snow just to make it look nice. It is a superb climate with no hurricanes or tornadoes..

and everything is CHEAP (Yorky)..

I am never bored but wifey misses Chicago/Milwaukee - now that is a horrible winter !

exvj

I will stay here and swap you the east side neo-nazis for some nice Japanese girls from Seattle.

nettlebed

I have lots of family in Spokane...

exvj

I am in Spokane for my Naturalization biometrics next thursday... the highlight will be a burger in Ritzville on the way. That is the sticks.

Spokane area looks ok - been there 3 times - but I strayed in Montana and there was a big sign at the side of the road that said

'JESUS IS LORD IN THIS VALLEY'

Quite scary but I kept going and didn't break down - phew !

nettlebed

Not compared to Spangle, which is where my wife's family come from, waaaaay back///

Spokane itself if a pretty cool place: some good eateries and downtown clubs. I like it there, module the weather...

We did a road trip to Montana and Wyoming this year (see my other thread), and apart from Missoula and the NPs, I did not like MT one bit. You know each state has its tagline? The Empire State, The Golden State, etc... I tend to think of MT as The F**k You State...

exvj

a soulmate at last !

nejicano

Sorry for not replying for so long! I got all lost in moving back and kept meaning to write a reply because I've got so much to say and nobody to say it to, which I'll get to in a moment.

Thank you so very much for the warm welcome. I don't feel so freaked out about posting now. I genuinely was worried it wasn't appropriate for me to post.

I'm not going to lie, re-entry sucks. I didn't want to move back in the first place, but I'm in Broadcast Journalism and would be hard-pressed to find a job they wouldn't just give to one of my course mates who wouldn't have to go through all the visa trouble.

So I'm living in Los Angeles now, which is alright, but I miss everything desperately. I was never so homesick in the UK as I am now. I don't know many people because I've never lived in LA before. I live with my grandparents, so that's a difficult adjustment right off the start. I'm very lucky they've taken me in, but it's still difficult. I miss my friends so dearly...sometimes it physically hurts. I don't know when/if I'll ever see them again, which I know sounds a bit melodramatic, but I'm only 21. It's hard for me to see a light at the end of this particular tunnel.

On top of that, I'm working a minimum wage, part time job I hate in glorified fast food. I miss being a student and learning things, feeling like I was actually working towards something and becoming a more intelligent, well rounded person. It's a hugely difficult transition. I can't find a job because the job market sucks, and I do consider myself to be pretty qualified for the jobs I've been applying for, even over-qualified in some cases.

And the worst part is that there's nobody to talk to about it. My parents are upset that I'm upset and know there's nothing they can really do to make it better. I don't actually know anybody else who's made a transition like this. I mean, it's difficult for people to understand having your heart in two places that are 5,000 miles apart. But that's why I need to keep coming on here, because there's an enormous group of people who DO understand, because they've done the exact same thing. I truly hope I don't come off as a complainer or a cry baby, I just don't know where else to turn.

HA, not to worry. I do it all the time, and I'm the queen at taking the piss out of my American-self. It was the stem of so many jokes with my closest uni friends, so it's kind of engrained now!

And can I just say, to start off on the ranting, that I was most unimpressed to find Cadbury is now manufactured in...HERSHEY, PA? I knew Kraft took over, but I didn't realise they were going to move North American productions from Canada to the US, and in the same city that manufactures Hershey, no less!